ROCKVILLE, Md. -- Several members of the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) have been elected as members or foreign associates of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.
Three current ASPB members were elected to this year's class:
- James A. Birchler, Curators Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri–Columbia
- Steven E. Jacobsen, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; and Professor of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles
- Jiayang Li, Professor, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology; and Vice President, Chinese Academy of Sciences (elected as foreign associate)
In addition, two former ASPB members were also elected:
- Athanasios (Sakis) Theologis, Emeritus Adjunct Professor, University of California, Berkeley; and former research scientist, Plant Gene Expression Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Akira Endo, Director, Biopharm Research Laboratories, Inc., Tokyo (elected as foreign associate)
As a recipient of ASPB's 2010 Stephen Hales Prize, Theologis will be speaking as part of the awards symposium at Plant Biology 2011, August 6 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
These plant biologists are among the 72 new members and 18 foreign associates just elected. There are now 2,113 active NAS members and 418 foreign associates.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private honorific society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific research. Established in 1863 by a congressional act of incorporation signed by Abraham Lincoln, the academy acts as an official adviser to the federal government through its operating arm, the National Research Council, administered with its sister organizations, the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine. Additional information about the academy and its members is available at http://www.nasonline.org/.
ASPB is a professional scientific society, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, devoted to the advancement of the plant sciences worldwide. With a membership of nearly 5,000 plant scientists from throughout the United States and more than 50 other nations, the Society publishes two of the most widely cited plant science journals: The Plant Cell and Plant Physiology. For more information about ASPB, please visit http://www.aspb.org/. Also follow ASPB on Facebook at facebook.com/myASPB and on Twitter @ASPB.